US president-elect Donald Trump has made vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy junior secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Well, that didn’t take long. The kindest way to describe one of Donald Trump’s appointments is to see it as a slice of surrealism. Really, Trump is an aficionado of Salvador Dali, Andre Breton or Rene Magritte? Who would have thought, and really should one be kind about this?
No. It’s beyond surreal (which may become the default defence position over the next four years). This appointment is scary because it upends reality to suit another reality, which has no basis in reality.
Last week, among a slew of bizarre yet predictable appointments, Trump made Robert F. Kennedy junior (he of the storied Kennedy clan) secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
In announcing the appointment on social media, Trump said: ‘‘For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health.
‘‘The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis in this country.’’
An uncharitable soul might infer from that he means vaccines. Which would be handy because Kennedy is a renowned vaccine sceptic, some might say, denier. (He also wants fluoride removed from the country’s water supplies, to which Trump is not opposed.)
Kennedy is the chairman of the board (now on leave) of Children’s Health Defence, whose mission is ‘‘ending childhood health epidemics by eliminating toxic exposure. We will restore and protect the health of children by eliminating environmental exposures, holding responsible parties accountable, and establishing safeguards to prevent future harm of children’s health. Protecting Children. Exposing Harms. Seeking Justice.’’
This is all very well, and indeed he is a critic of the amount of chemicals in food, for instance, but there is an army of experts who believe Kennedy’s views on health are toxic, and now that he will be soon in charge of the country’s health, rather frightening.
PLEASE HELP US CONTINUE TO THRIVE BY BECOMING AN OFFICIAL FOOTYOLOGY PATRON. JUST CLICK THIS LINK.
The ABC recently spoke to Professor Paul Offit, a specialist in infectious diseases and immunology, who called Kennedy a ‘‘science denialist’’ and a ‘‘conspiracy theorist’’. Dr Offit told the ABC: ‘‘He continues to spout lies, and he is always unrepentant. For example, he continues to say the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism even though 18 studies done in seven countries on three continents have shown that’s not true. He just has these non-falsifiable beliefs that he holds with the conviction of a religious belief.”
Other criticism goes further. The Guardian reported the reaction of the non-profit group for consumer advocacy, Public Citizen. “Robert F Kennedy Jr. is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health. He shouldn’t be allowed in the building at the department of health and human services (HHS), let alone be placed in charge of the nation’s public health agency.”
Alastair McAlpine, a pediatric physician, was reported in The Guardian as saying: “It is hard to overstate what a terrible decision this is. RFK Jr. has no medical training. He is a hardcore anti-vaccine and misinformation peddler. The last time he meddled in a state’s medical affairs (Samoa), 83 children died of measles.”
Two further examples should suffice, both reported recently by Forbes magazine: One was the instance of Kennedy caught on camera telling diners that “COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people” and “the people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese’’.
Second, gun massacres were linked to prescription drugs. He reportedly told Elon Musk that before people were prescribed drugs such as Prozac, there were no massacres.
Tell that to the native Americans.
As the next four years unfold in their Trumpian ways, we can only but repeat this from French writer Philippe Soupalt: ‘‘There is nothing more surreal than reality itself.’’ And then brew a strong pot of tea and have a good lie down.
